What counts as a research paper for AJEM?

Introduction

The Australian Journal of Emergency Management (AJEM) is a hybrid scholarly and practitioner journal bridging systematic research and real‑world emergency management practice. Submissions draw on empirical research, policy analysis, professional practice, case studies, or lessons learned from real‑world events.

This article aims to support non‑academic, early-career or first‑time authors who are interested in publishing in AJEM by:

1) explaining how AJEM research papers differ from other types of AJEM articles such as reports

2) outlining what constitutes research, and what the expectations of scholarship are for AJEM research paper submissions.

As AJEM is a hybrid research-industry journal, understanding whether your article idea suits a research paper, a report or another type of article is a key planning step before submission.

In many cases, reports submitted to AJEM have the markers of research but are not written in research paper format. Inversely, submitted research papers can be rejected because they do not have the scholarly markers of research and are written as descriptive reports. Understanding the difference can help writers of research papers to produce a better paper for peer-review and help writers of reports to convey their narrative meaning.

Meanwhile, some articles submitted to AJEM are neither research papers nor reports. They are position papers that aim to persuade readers of a particular viewpoint. These types of papers are only accepted by AJEM as short format News and Views or Viewpoints articles, or as opinion pieces written by highly qualified or expert authors. Knowing this beforehand can save authors wasted time and effort in preparing longer position papers that cannot be accepted by AJEM.

What is the difference between a research paper, a report and other article types in AJEM?

Research papers

Research papers share the findings of original research suitable to the scope of AJEM. Research can include literature reviews, methods papers, data papers, short communications and case studies.

Commensurate with the type of work undertaken, research papers should follow a discipline-standard approach to scholarship, research practice, article style, composition and structure. Research papers should have the markers of research scholarship, which are explained in more detail below.

Research papers are peer-reviewed by two or more reviewers. Research involving human subjects or animals must be approved by the authors’ institutional review board (e.g. Human Research Ethics Committee) and the approval number stated in the paper.

Reports

Reports are descriptions of practices, projects, incidents, research, major initiatives and policies of interest within the scope of AJEM. Their purpose is to document and illustrate what happened and why it is of interest, rather than to propose and test systematic questions, or produce comparative or generalisable findings (which is research). In a report, emphasis is placed on rich description, narrative clarity, and contextual detail.

Reports may focus on a single case, or a small number of cases, providing a detailed account of a noteworthy event, practice, or experience. As an example, reports might communicate in detail the findings of a consultancy, an exercise, a project, a workshop, an excerpt or summary of one aspect of a full research project, a practice enhancement or a new or revised policy or initiative.

Reports submitted to AJEM may be editor‑reviewed or single peer‑reviewed, with an emphasis on clarity, relevance, and usefulness for practitioners and decision‑makers.

The difference between a report and a research paper is that a report does not need to have the systematic scholarly markers of research. Reports only describe, tend to be informative rather than analytical and do not make original scholarly advances (although they may describe practice advances). However, reports are expected to convey a clear narrative, refer to the literature where relevant, be well-written, concise and free of errors and inaccuracies. Reports describing research projects involving human or animal subjects must also be accompanied by an ethics approval number.

Position papers (News and Views, Viewpoints, opinion pieces and letters to the Editor)

Position papers present a reasoned perspective on a particular topic and are intended to contribute to discussion and debate within the field. While they should be informed by relevant research and evidence, their primary purpose is to advance or explore a particular viewpoint rather than to share the findings of original research or describe something that happened.

Authors considering submission to AJEM should reflect on the primary purpose of their article. If the main intent is to advocate for, or argue in favour of, a particular position, the submission is likely to be suited to one of AJEM's shorter article formats, rather than a research paper or report. These include News and Views articles, Viewpoint articles, opinion pieces and letters to the Editor. More information about the differences between these article types is available in the AJEM Contributor Guidelines.

These other types of AJEM articles may also be editor-reviewed.  

What is research?

The Australian Research Council defines research in this way: ‘The concept of research is broad and includes the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies, inventions and understandings. This could include synthesis and analysis of previous research to the extent that it is new and creative.’ (Australian Research Council 2018, p5 [pdf])

In other words, research involves creating new knowledge or finding new ways to use existing knowledge to improve understanding, solve problems, or develop new ideas.

In emergency management, research might involve testing new approaches to bushfire warnings, studying what helps communities recover after disasters, or investigating how rainfall, river systems and catchments interact during extreme weather events to improve flood forecasting and warning systems.

In Australia, research must be conducted in accordance with the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct for Research.

What are the expected markers of scholarship for AJEM research papers?

A research paper reports the systematised process of research. A research paper is designed to answer a defined research question or test a hypothesis using systematic and transparent methods, analysis and interpretation.

Research papers do more than describe events or findings. They use analytical language and tone – words build an analytical narrative. Research papers convey an evidenced argument throughout, linking an identified knowledge gap, to the data and evidence collected, and the conclusion.

Research papers follow a logical structure- often introduction, methods, results, and discussion are used in science disciplines – although structures can vary by disciplines, between qualitative and quantitative research, and for different paper types (e.g. literature reviews).

Broadly, research papers should identify a knowledge gap using the existing literature, propose a question to address that gap (your research), apply and explain the discipline-appropriate data collection, report the findings, and interpret the findings in relation to the context of the question raised in the introduction, outlining the new knowledge that has been contributed by the research.

Academic writing is a practiced skill, and it can be difficult to understand the nuanced requirements for research papers. Nonetheless, peer-reviewers will be looking for certain markers of scholarship in the paper that demonstrate the significance of the contribution, and the composition, conduct, content, conclusions and structure of the research.

Research papers should have the markers of research scholarship such as (but not limited to):

  • identification of a knowledge gap in the existing research literature
  • a clear research aim or questions
  • data collection undertaken using justified and standard methodologies
  • findings described using data and evidence
  • discussion of findings in relation to the proposition set in the introduction, e.g. what is known now that wasn’t before, what has been advanced?
  • a sound conclusion.

Where can I see some examples of AJEM research papers and reports?

When planning your AJEM submission, look through the range of research papers and reports that have been published previously to give you a feel for how you might prepare your submission.

Some recent examples of different types of research papers in AJEM include:

Details of how to submit articles, including required word limits for different types of articles, formatting and reference styles are available in the AJEM Contributor Guidelines.

Please ensure your submission to AJEM fits the requirements for one of the types of articles listed in the guidelines. It may be returned to you with a request to revise it if it does not. Please get in touch with the AJEM team if you would like to discuss what type of article you are planning.

Where can I find some further guidance on research and research writing?

Books

  • Lindsay, David. (2011). Scientific writing = thinking in words. CSIRO Publishing.
  • Salmona, Michelle, Kaczynski, Dan, and Lieber, Eli. (2023) Qualitative research writing: Credible and trustworthy from beginning to end. Sage Publications

Websites

 

By Associate Professor Melissa Parsons, University of New England (AJEM Editor-in-Chief) and Dr Blythe McLennan, Manager – Knowledge Development, AIDR